FACULTY AND STAFF ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND BEST PRACTICES // JUNE 2021
IN PRINT
President Scott D. Miller serves as Executive Editor (along with Dr. Marylouise Fennell) on the presidential thought-leadership series President to President, launching the 16th year of this publication with the 2020-2021 series titled "Fostering a Culture of Innovation." In the series, prominent higher education leaders share how they are meeting the challenges of an unprecedented era through an ongoing focus on innovation. In the ninth chapter, “When the Dust Settles, Higher Education Won’t Be the Same” Georgia Institute of Technology President Ángel Cabrera, Ph.D., explores how the events of 2020 and the resulting changes to campus life will continue to impact—and even reshape—higher education well into the future. He explores the positive developments borne of the immense challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic and offers ideas on how to continue leveraging those developments to enhance higher education.
 
President Miller's daily blog, Dialogue, can be found at prezscottmiller.blogspot.com.
Terry Lindvall's chapter, "Ridens discentium, Cheshire Cats, and Classroom Humor" appeared in Kishor Vaidya's book, Teach Communication With a Sense of Humor: Why (and How to) Be a Funnier and More Effective Communication Teacher (Curious Academic Publishing, 2021).
Michelle Albert Vachris published a chapter, Sports, Culture, and the Economy: Baseball in the Dominican Republic, in Off-Campus Study, Study Abroad, and Study Away in Economics. Hall, Joshua and Holder, Kim (eds). Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature.
PRESENTATIONS AND PANELS
Denise Wilkinson presented the session, “New Ways to Engage Students with Google Apps,” virtually, at the ELON University Teaching and Learning Conference. 

Nadia Nafar gave a presentation titled Does Extending Assignments Due Dates with No Grade Penalty Improve Performance in Financial Accounting Principles for Face to Face and Online Students at ODUs Strome College Dean's Research Seminar. Co-presenters were Dr. Angela Busila (Shepherd University) and Dr. Douglas Ziegenfuss (Old Dominion University).

Jennifer Slivka presented "Gender Inclusivity Training" to the entire staff of the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art in preparation for their upcoming summer exhibit titled "Amplify" which features woman-identifying artists from Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C. Jennifer also continues to work with staff on the language of the exhibit to ensure its inclusive.

As the President of the Virginia Council for Learning Disabilities, Mindy Gumpert was an invited panelist for a seminar at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Five leaders of organizations from across the state discussed the importance of joining professional organizations in order to remain current in the field of special education for preservice teachers at VCU.
Along with two FBI Special Agents, Benjamin Dobrin ran a class on Responding to Terrorism and CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives) at the Chesapeake Police Training Academy.
GRANTS
Brian Kurisky received a $2,000 grant from VoteReady VA, a non-profit voter engagement organization, that will be used both on and off campus to register voters.
OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Taryn Myers appeared on “Let’s Go There w/Shira (Lazar) and Ryan (Mitchell),” on CHANNEL Q, the nation’s first and largest nationally-syndicated LGBTQ+ talk radio network, to discuss psychological issues related to neopronouns.

Nadia Nafar was quoted on Wallethub.com. She was asked questions on "Starter Credit Cards."
Mindy Gumpert joined the Board of Directors of REACH (Reading Enriches all Children), a volunteer organization that promotes literacy for children who are at-risk and homeless throughout Coastal Virginia. REACH is behind The Big Free Bookstore in Military Circle Mall that provides free books for toddlers to adults. Each patron can get two, free, brand new books, twice a week.
Faculty and staff accomplishments are celebrated each spring during Virginia Wesleyan’s annual “Feathers in Your Cap” event. Hosted by the Office of Innovative Teaching and Engaged Learning (INTEL) and Hofheimer Library, the event recognizes VWU faculty, adjunct professors and staff members for their professional endeavors throughout the year. Accomplishments include publishing books and articles, professional presentations, garnering grants and awards and designing community engagement activities and events. The event also provides an opportunity for networking and community-building. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Feathers in Your Cap event celebrating accomplishments from the 2020-2021 Academic Year was held virtually.
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